Lake Francis Case - A Long Day out of Chamberlain

Joe indeed had a long day yesterday (Wednesday), able to paddle 47 miles on Lake Francis Case. He woke up later than usual and had a rough go of it. He said he felt the last 7 miles of the trip took the longest. He'd look up and felt as if he was paddling in the same spot for an hour. Despite that, he was able to manage a long day on flat water and put himself in a good position to reach Fort Randall Dam today. He said the only way he was able to put in so many miles was the help of his sail, which caught a nice tailwind.

A photo of Fort Randall Dam, South Dakota. (photo courtesy of wikipedia)

As for the surrounding scenery, he said he didn't see too much as he was focused on grinding out a long day. He did see two twin buttes that he thought were pretty cool and hopefully he'll be able to upload a photo of soon. Military planes were flying all day and one seemed to fly right overhead. After doing a little browsing, I believe they are probably coming out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in Rapid City, back where Joe and Kelly Lane had a great time.


Joe is really looking forward to being back on the open river soon and the remoteness of the lakes have tried his patience. Another day on Lake Francis Case and then a few more on the coming up lakes and Joe will have his wish. I will talk with Joe tonight, probably at his camp near the dam, and look forward to updating you all at that time.



Paddle on,

Jared